The Skype attempt

As you know, Caitlin is in Rome for the semester. This, of course, makes communication very difficult. It's made even more difficult by our crazy schedules and the 6 hour time difference. A great solution to this problem: Skype (if you don't know what it is you should probably look it up because I don't know how to explain it. Sorry.). Even with this great solution Caitlin and I weren't able to Skype till tonight for the first time. And guess what? The connection was so bad that we were only able to talk for 3 minutes at a time! It was so crazy. Our entire conversation consisted of, "Hi! oops! I lost you. Can you hear me? There you are! Oh no - I can't see you again." It was sad. It was nice to see her face, but I miss her way too much for that to be enough. I'm not giving up though - we'll try again soon! I think I'm going to have to skip something on my schedule so I can fit in time when she'll have the best connection.

I love you Cait and I miss you so much!!!

RIP Pepe

My mom's dad (Pepe) died last night around 6pm. He wanted to be alone when he died and he was - my mom and grandmother had just left the hospital. I don't have many details right now because my mom wasn't up for talking.

I just love to update you all ...

I know, I know, every time I post I have a billion things to say. That's just how it is right now. :)

First and most urgently: My mom's father is dying. He's had heart problems for years and fought through numerous near death illnesses, but as far as we can tell this is the end. He has pneumonia in both lungs and has stopped eating. This is the first time he seems to have given up and that's why we think it's the end. My mom is in Florida with him now. We just pray that the Good News he's heard so many times will really sink in before he takes his last breath.

I got my first official illness from my practicum kids last week: conjunctivitis. I've had it before and I knew I had it right away, but when I called my doctor for the drops (they've just sent me a prescription for them before) they said I had to come in to be seen. That was on Wednesday. They couldn't see me till Friday morning. Which meant that I was contagious till Saturday morning. That's a lot of days of not doing anything! Of course I didn't use that time wisely so I still have a mountain of school work to get done. One of these days I'll learn.

Nick and Marci are married!!! I didn't get to go to the wedding (like I said before - family only), but I did get to see some great pictures. Here's one of them (stolen from Marci):

The last news we heard is that Nick isn't leaving for Afghanistan until April.

Haley's back to normal now (except that she's avoiding lactose - doctor's orders) and is in Israel right now. She and 24 other people from our church (including Pastor Mark and Terry) are there on a ten day tour. They left yesterday and they'll be back next Wednesday. We all think they're a little crazy considering the war that's going on over there, but the tour people claim that they won't be anywhere near Gaza and they'll be perfectly safe. I'm still a little worried.

I guess that's all I have to say. I felt like there was more, but apparently not. Tune in soon to hear all about my amazing 21st birthday! :)

Green Painted Jeans

I started my student teaching last week and I am LOVING every minute of it!!! The classroom I'm in is Pre-K (so 4&5 year-olds). Their teacher is awesome and we have so much fun everyday!! One of the big things we do in the classroom is open ended art projects. Which basically means that Ms. Carolyn (the teacher I'm working with) puts out a certain medium (usually paint) and a specific kind of paper (dinosaur shaped paper, wax paper, construction paper, etc...) and then lets the kids do what they want. There is no right or wrong and they can even use their hands if they so desire. For some reason unknown to me they are all loving green. Green paint, green bingo dotters, green markers. They're having a blast with the green, and I've gotten it on two pairs of jeans now. I actually like that idea - I feel a little more like a real teacher.

They're my badges of honor - green painted jeans. :)

Dad's surgery

I'm just about to leave school, but I thought I'd give you all an update real quick. My dad just got out of his surgery and the doctor said he's doing just fine. :) I'm going to be headed to the hospital now, hopefully I'll make it there before he wakes up.

Thanks for all your prayers!!! :)

My new schedule:

Every semester my schedule changes to fit around the classes I'm taking (just like every other college student out there). This time my schedule is busier because of practicum. I thought I'd write out the major weekly things here so that the people that have asked me about it can find it:

Monday:
7:30-12:30/1:00 Practicum at BCDC
1:00- 4:00ish work at LAOG
6:00- 8:30 "Guiding Children's Behavior" at MWCC

Tuesday:
9:30-12:15 "Leadership in Education Seminar" and math class at MWCC
1:00- 4:00ish work at LAOG
6:00- 8:30 "Day Care Administrarion" at MWCC

Wednesday:
7:30- 12:00 Practicum at BCDC
12:20- 2:00 Practicum seminar at MWCC
2:30- 6:00 work at LAOG

Thursday:
9:30- 12:15 "Leadership in Education Seminar" and math class at MWCC
1:00- 4:00ish work at LAOG

Friday:
7:30- 12:30/1:00 Practicum at BCDC
1:00- 4:00ish work at LAOG

Sunday:
8:00- 1:15ish Church, teach 2&3's Sunday School and nursery at LAOG
4:30- 6:00 young adult Bible Study at LAOG
6:30- 8:00 work in youth Bible Study at LAOG

So now you know where to find me at all times during the week. If there's any time when I don't have to be at work or school you can find me fitting hours in at my practicum site. I'm supposed to be finishing early so that I can start the next one right away. The goal is for me to be done with both practicums by July so that the President of the school will let me walk in the graduation in May. I hope it works out!!

Updates and News (again)

Hello everyone! The update fairy here with some updates (because if she was bringing you something else she wouldn't be an update fairy now would she?). First, my dad is definitely going to have surgery on Thursday. He'll be staying overnight at the hospital and should supposedly be in much less pain when he wakes up. I'm a little skeptical of this less pain thing because doctors have said that to him before, but I have to remember that I'm not putting my trust in his earthly doctor, but in our Heavenly Doctor that created my dad and knows him better than anyone else. He'll take great care of my daddy. :)

Caitlin is adjusting well in Rome, to find out more about her you should check out her blog because she says it so much better than I could.

Haley's doctors have finally decided that the pain they thought was her gull bladder was actually severe acid reflux. She thinks the pain was too bad for that, but she had an endoscopy and that's what it showed. She just got her stitches in her arm out on Monday and though she's pretty badly bruised still she's feeling much better. She's even going back to work today!

Now for some bittersweet news: Marci's getting married!!! For those of you who don't know, Marci R. and Nick S. have been planning on getting married in June. The wedding day was set and she was just about to send out invitations when they found out that Nick is going to be deployed (that's the bitter part). He's leaving in February for training and then in April they're going to send him to either Iraq or Afganistan. He'll be gone for a year. They just found this out last Friday (Jan 16). Instead of postponing the wedding they decided to move it up - to Saturday (Jan 24). They're getting married in two days!!! They're going to have a small wedding with just immediate family and then a big wedding and reception in a year when he comes back. This time for them has been absolutely crazy! They're trying to get an apartment ready and a wedding planned in a week, plus Marci started school on Tuesday! I don't think they're going to have time to process him being deployed until after the ceremony. Marci says she's not feeling too stressed at the moment which is great! Please pray that God continues to give her peace and that He blesses the time that she and Nick have together. Also pray for Nick's safety and Marci's sanity while he's gone. I'll update you as I know more.

My verse ...

The verse that keeps sneaking its way into my life and that I am now seeing as my verse for this year is ...

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

~Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Updates and news

My dad had a doctor's appointment last week and the doctor was suprised at how little he's healed. Instead of making my dad sit in pain for weeks and months on end until his vertebrae "fixes itself", they're going to schedule a surgery. Because it's a compressed fracture the surgery is going to consist of squirting a concrete-like substance into the vertebrae to bring it back to its original shape. The doctor said that the pain after the surgery is not as bad as the pain my dad is feeling now. If that's true then praise God for surgery because I can't stand to see my dad in pain much longer.

My last post was about Caitlin and her trip to Rome. Well, there's already been a bump in the journey. Caitlin's flight was cancelled and her mother had to scurry around to get her another one that left much later than the original one was planned. Now she'll make it to Rome with very little time before orientation begins at the school. For more news on this and updates on her trip check out her blog: http://caitlinnicoleb.blogspot.com/.

Onto the news of the day: Haley W. and her many trips to the ER. On Friday night Haley was in the church carrying 14 china plates down the stairs when she tripped on her high heel and fell forward down the stairs, breaking the plates and badly slicing her arms. She was rushed to the ER where they cleaned out her wounds, ruled out a broken arm, stitched up the really bad cuts and gave her a prescription for pain meds. She was really sore all the next day and needed help to do everything. Then, on Sunday morning she woke me up at 6 (I had been sleeping over so I could take care of her) saying that her heart hurt. Of course it's the middle of a snow storm and we're at her grandmother's house which is at the top of a hill that is off of another hill that is off of another hill. It's the kind of house that you don't leave when it's snowing cause you'll never make it back home. Thankfully her mom has 4 wheel drive. We rushed once again to the ER while Haley is writhing in pain and trying not to throw up (at this point we've realized that it's not her heart. but most likely her gull bladder). 6 hours in the ER and all they could do was tell her that she wasn't pregnant (which she told them but they didn't believe) and they didn't see anything wrong with her. "It must have just been a functioning problem" was the doctor's "diagnosis". Her primary care doctor (whom she saw on Monday) is sending her to a surgeon because she thinks that it IS her gull bladder, even though the tests didn't show that. So now the poor girl is in pain all over from the fall and this issue with her gull bladder. Please pray that whatever is wrong can be resolved quickly - Haley can only rest for so long. :)

Today's the big day!

Caitlin is headed to Rome today. Off on the start of her last 18 months of college and the incredible adventures that God is placing in her life's journey. I'm so proud of her and all the work she has done to get to this point in her life. I can't wait to hear the amazing things God is going to do in her life as well as in the lives of those she meets!

She'll be gone for 4 months and I'll miss her everyday, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm so excited for her!!! I just hope she doesn't meet some great guy over there and decide to stay. ;)